Chapter 996: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 996: It's Better to End the Pain Quickly (1)
The Mo family was especially busy in August. Although the matters of the orchard, rice fields, dry fields, and construction sites didn’t require Mo Yan to handle them personally or watch over them constantly, there were still decisions that needed her input. When several things happened to overlap, she’d have her hands full in no time.
She had originally planned to visit their estate in the south of the city on the tenth, stay there for a couple of days, and unwind a bit. But in the end, she got so busy she couldn’t make time for it, leaving Xin’er—who had been looking forward to it—disappointed. Mo Yan could only shrug helplessly and promise that once things settled down, they’d definitely go take a look.
That day, Mo Yan sat in the courtyard with a brush and account book, tallying the newly harvested fruit. Seeing the bamboo baskets full of fruit piled up across more than half the courtyard, she couldn’t stop smiling.
Bright red apples, shiny purple grapes, greenish-yellow oranges… The air was thick with the sweet scent of fruit. Taking a deep breath seemed to clear the mind, and just standing there for a moment left her clothes and hair infused with the fruity fragrance—absolutely delightful.
“Yan girl, we must have picked over twenty thousand jin of fruit today,” said Aunt Tong with delight as she looked at the overflowing baskets. “And that’s with us deliberately thinning the fruit to avoid stressing the trees—we only left about fifty fruits on each tree. Next year, if we let them grow freely, the harvest might double or even triple.”
“Mhm, the yield this year really exceeded my expectations. It’s all thanks to your care, Aunt Tong. Without you, the fruit trees wouldn’t have grown so well, and the fruits wouldn’t be so big either.” Mo Yan genuinely thanked her, feeling once again that she hadn’t picked the wrong person for the job.
This year’s fruit was clearly better than last year’s—not only bigger in size, but better in taste too. While the spiritual spring water had its effects, it was Aunt Tong’s meticulous care that protected the trees from pests and disease. Without that, even the best water wouldn’t have helped.
“I was just doing what I should. If you thank me like this, Yan girl, I feel embarrassed.” Aunt Tong quickly waved her hands, not daring to take credit.
Still, even as she said so, the smile on her face never faded. Who wouldn’t want their hard work to be recognized?
As they spoke, a few more women and older children entered the courtyard carrying bamboo baskets. Seeing that it was getting late and there was still more fruit to harvest, Mo Yan tallied their baskets and paid them accordingly. She also gave each of them five fruits as a thank-you gift and told them to come back tomorrow.
Not long after, Da Ni'er came in as well, carrying a full basket of fruit. She was helping out purely out of goodwill, not for the money, and when Mo Yan found out, she couldn’t stop her.
With Mo Yan’s help, Da Ni'er set the basket down and rubbed her sore shoulders. “Yan girl, has all the fruit been weighed? There’s so much—can we really sell it all at once?”
“It’s been weighed—over twenty-three thousand jin!” Mo Yan pointed to the final tally in the ledger and smiled. “I was actually worried it wouldn’t be enough to satisfy those rich folks. Don’t worry, sister Da Ni'er, none of it will go to waste!”
Da Ni'er let out a long sigh of relief. “That’s good, that’s good. I was just worried that if we picked too much at once and couldn’t sell it, it’d go bad.”
“Mhm. Young Master Yan already found buyers. He’ll be coming by soon to take the fruit away.” Mo Yan picked up a big apple and handed it to Da Ni'er, who was drenched in sweat. “Have an apple and rehydrate a bit. Stay and have dinner with us later.”
Upon hearing that familiar title again, Da Ni'er was momentarily stunned before quickly regaining her composure. She silently took the apple from Mo Yan’s hand, hesitated for a moment, then gathered her courage to ask, “Yan girl… will Young Master Yan be coming in person?”
(End of Chapter)
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